The Canisters
A sampling of the containers that contained Robert’s marijuana.
Throughout the 25 years during which Robert received federal marijuana for medical purposes the product was delivered in a variety of packaging methods. It started with take home doses of ten cigarettes in a small plastic container (center in above photo). Later it “progressed” to large prescription bottle in the ubiquitous brown color (center). These were provided by a private pharmacist who would receive the tin from federal authorities and transfer it to the typical brown bottles. Then Robert’s pharmacy was transferred to the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) which had a pharmacy in the Washington, DC Dept of Health and Human Services building, about nine blocks from our home. It was the USPHS which started the policy of delivering the canister directly to Robert with a typical prescription label and assorted stickers advising against transfer of the drug to others, and to keep the product refrigerated. There was, however, no regularity. Some had stickers advising the product be refrigerated, not frozen. But other labels advise freezing.
Two examples of the canisters can be seen above. The canister on the right is from 1986, on the left from 2001. You’ll notice the difference in color. Most of the canisters from the 1980s have under gone a color change because of oxidation.
Most of the available canisters have a prescription label so it is easy to select a canister with some significance to the buyer; a birth year, for example, or a holiday. Additionally the dates allow linking to important events in the medical marijuana movement. In the above photo, the canister on the left is dated 01/19/01. Robert would die five months later and, at this time, he was receiving four canisters at a time. Thus this is one of Robert’s last tins. The canister on the right is dated 09/08/86. In September 1986, Robert began working with attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson to create the legal case that would convince DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis I. Young that marijuana was incorrectly placed in Schedule I and should be re-scheduled, a decision over-ruled by the DEA administrator.
For a list of inventory please visit this page. If you have further questions contact: aliceolearyrandall@gmail.com
